Thundercracker (AU)
Soaring swiftly through the clouds, Thundercracker gazes with scorn on the creatures below. He is utterly contemptuous of anything that cannot lift itself off the ground and claim the sky. Occasionally, he expresses that contempt by diving and striking, leaving flame and destruction in this path. Yet he is not totally convinced of the cause that he serves. Only the words of his Decepticon companions about the rightness of their cause, and the destiny of conquest that is their birthright convince him to go on. He is persuaded because he wants to be persuaded. Without a sense of purpose, Thundercracker would find his life unbearable. Like his fellow Decepticon jet fighters, Thundercracker can attain speeds of up to 1500 mph. He has the additional ability to produce controlled sonic booms of deafening magnitude that can be heard within a 200-mile radius. He can launch a drone rocket with a range of 500 miles that behaves similarly to a cruise missile and has the concussive force of 3000 lbs. of TNT. He has a shoulder-mounted automatic incendiary gun that shoots at 100 rounds per minute heat-resistant ceramic bullets containing a highly explosive flammable material that ignites on impact. Lingering doubts in Thundercracker's subconscious sometimes surface and impede his effectiveness, particularly when innocent human lives are endangered. Usually his fear of Decepticon Leader Megatron compels him to overlook these doubts. Gallery ThundercrackerKreo.jpg|Adorably evil! History Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History: War Dawn In the early days of the Decepticon rebellion, Thundercracker and Skywarp both faced the powerful protectors of Cybertron's cities, the Guardian Robots. According to Thundercracker, he was often not very successful. More than Meets the Eye Thundercracker was one of Megatron's elite warriors, participating in the attack on the Ark and joining the rest of the Earth-bound Transformers in their several-million-year nap under an inactive volcano. He awoke when the rest of the Decepticons did, and took part in their attempts to gather energon and escape the planet Earth, which he loathed for being too "flat". It was he and Reflector who spotted the first "potential Autobot", when in fact they had discovered the planet's native inhabitants, two humans, in a non-sentient vehicle. Megatron took the Decepticons to Sherman Dam, a major source of energy. The Autobots, upon discovering their plot, soon arrived to prevent their ambition from becoming reality. Thundercracker and Skywarp fought off Mirage and Cliffjumper, only for Mirage to make a recovery and send the two Seekers off the bridge they were standing on. They were at least able to recover in time to escape with the rest of the group once Megatron had knocked Optimus Prime into the rushing river nearby. Though Thundercracker assisted in filling the energon cubes, Starscream wasted a huge amount of energon testing it with a cannon. The Decepticons were then forced to make two stops: one at the ruby crystal mines of Burma, and another hunting for rocket fuel. Thundercracker and a handful of Seekers were among the strike force headed for the Crystal Mines. While there, he pushed a cart of these gems with Skywarp, talking to Skywarp about his dislike for Earth, something Skywarp agreed with. They just barely avoided noticing Bumblebee and his ally Sparkplug Witwicky, who had come to investigate. The two set a bomb, but ran into the two Seekers on their way back out. Thundercracker attacked them until they were on the ground, Skywarp proposing that they give them as a present to Megatron. The bomb went off almost immediately afterward, burying the Decepticons and their enemies, so this did not come to be. Both parties managed to escape safely, and Thundercracker went with the other Decepticons (save for Megatron) to a rocket fuel base, where Thundercracker made his mark by destroying a couple of tanks. The Autobots arrived to stop them, with Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Laserbeak unleashing an aerial assault upon Cliffjumper and Wheeljack. During the brawl, Megatron called Thundercracker and the other troops to the space cruiser to return to Cybertron. However, a surprise attack from Mirage grounded their plans, literally and metaphorically. Transport to Oblivion This would not be the end of the Decepticons, however. The crashed Victory was rebuilt into a fortress, from which they made another assault looking for energon. Thundercracker participated in many other attacks following this, also witnessing Megatron's disappearance in a space bridge accident, and being part of the attack on a hydroelectric power generator along with Soundwave and Starscream, who declared himself leader in Megatron's absence. Though a group of Autobots came to stop them, Thundercracker bashed the charging Cliffjumper with a pillar from the building. The energon cubes they were making were destroyed, and Soundwave suggested that the squad should retreat. As they escaped, Thundercracker criticized Starscream's leader capabilities, going on to praise Megatron when he revealed himself to have survived. Roll for It Starscream took his squad (and Skywarp) to an airplane factory for spare parts, but while Thundercracker was having his wings reattached, Bluestreak and Prowl crashed the party. The Seekers shot at the Autobots, but Chip Chase took control of the injured Prowl and had him unleash a spectacular assault forcing Starscream's squad to escape. However, they made a quick stop at Chip's house and abducted him, taking him to Dr. Alcazar's lab where the other Decepticons were. They extracted the antimatter formula from his brain, making them stronger. Thundercracker was unable to kill the now-useless Chip, as Autobots interrupted and took him back. The next morning, after leaving the lab, Sunstreaker used his jet judo on the antimatter-powered Thundercracker, but Starscream thwarted this plan. Thundercracker was then ordered to give Megatron the antimatter cubes, transforming him into "the most powerful weapon of all". This plan was a failure, and the Decepticons had no choice but to get away. Divide and Conquer Thundercracker again joined his fellow Seekers in raiding a factory for energy and heavily damaging Optimus Prime, who had been called in by Chip. When more Autobots showed up, Megatron ordered the Seekers to escape with the energon cubes rather than fighting them. At the end of the day, Thundercracker participated in a battle in front of the Ark, where he was punched down by Huffer immediately as he landed. When Megatron suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of a recovered Optimus Prime, Starscream smugly instructed everybody to take Megatron back for repairs. Fire in the Sky/S.O.S. Dinobots Following this, Thundercracker witnessed the rebirth of Starscream's former colleague Skyfire and was shot down by Slag during a mission at the Great Falls. Fire on the Mountain One of the few things he seemed to loathe even more than the world he was stranded on was the attitude of his commander, Starscream. Thundercracker often started fights with the Air Commander, usually over whether or not Megatron's latest plan was a waste of time (Thundercracker took Megatron's side). At one point, Thundercracker's distaste for "that geeky Starscream" became so strong that he was willing to let Skyfire destroy one of the Decepticons' greatest weapons, just in the hopes that Starscream would get blamed for it! Despite these brushes with treachery, however, Thundercracker just never had it in him to do anything more than complain about his fellow Decepticons. War of the Dinobots/The Ultimate Doom Thundercracker and the other Seekers helped haul an unstable meteor back for the Decepticons, and the Seekers next attacked a solar plant located in India as a diversion so Megatron could continue his plan. When Skywarp and Starscream began arguing over the effectiveness of the plan, Thundercracker merely kept his mouth shut. The Autobots came to rescue Sparkplug, going to the underwater base to do so. During this underwater battle, Thundercracker sent a missile at Bumblebee, only for Bumblebee to direct it back at him. He was next doing some work on a large space bridge for Megatron, one that would bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit and create devastating weather. Starscream ordered Thundercracker to use his flamethrower against the Autobots, and despite Thundercracker's protests saying that the wind is too strong, Starscream wouldn't give in. Thundercracker turned out to be correct, and his fire ended up scorching to two Seekers instead, something Jazz and Trailbreaker found humourous. When the other Decepticons noticed that Megatron had left for Cybertron by himself, Thundercracker was in hot pursuit. Countdown to Extinction Thundercracker was the straight man when Skywarp, Rumble, and Frenzy were bickering when they should have been working. Though he was as surprised as everybody else when Megatron arrived, perfectly healthy, to shut everybody up, Thundercracker was willing to go with Megatron when he discovered Starscream and Dr. Arkeville's plot. A Plague of Insecticons Megatron took Soundwave and Thundercracker to Bali after giant insects were reported in the area. When Ravage showed them to a Decepticon escape pod disguised as a hollow rock, Thundercracker deduced that the giant insects were Decepticons who came to Earth and scanned insects as alternate modes. This group met up with the Insecticons, and Shrapnel requested that they help defeat the group of Autobots challenging them, to which they agreed. When reinforcement Autobots came in, Megatron ordered the Decepticons (Insecticons included) to head for the oil refinery to rest up. The Insecticons separated, with the rest going to the refinery, where Thundercracker poured oil from the pipes into Soundwave's energon cubes, and brought more cubes when Rumble requested them. A visitor soon showed up, and Thundercracker joined in giving him a "warm welcome". Other Autobots arrived, with Brawn, Wheeljack and Optimus Prime being forced to dive into the water to avoid a "Shrapnel grenade". Thundercracker used his flamethrower on the trio of Autobots, who avoided it and retaliated by swimming underwater and then pushing up the dock Thundercracker was standing on, throwing him into his own inferno. He retreated with the rest of his group to follow the fleeing Insecticons. Heavy Metal War Megatron used the power chip rectifiers taken from the other Decepticons in his one-on-one battle against Optimus Prime. Thundercracker contributed his, allowing Megatron to use ear-splitting sonic booms. After the battle, the Autobots went back to base so Optimus could recover, where they discovered the Decepticons' plan. After distracting and threatening them with a hologram, the Autobots shot at their enemies until they fell down the crevice, into the lava below. Autobot Spike/ Changing Gears Thundercracker obviously survived his fall with the rest of his group, as he was around for attacks on Air Force rocket bases, and on the hunt for Autobot X, and was with the other Decepticons in Africa, but at the end of the day, he was sent flying into a tree by Ratchet. When the solar needle situation became dire, causing the sun to come close to self-destruction, Thundercracker was smart enough to fly away, the first Decepticon to do so. City of Steel Thundercracker was also part of an aerial strike force bombarding the Autobots as they attempted to recover Optimus Prime's right arm from the Decepticons' fortress in "New Cybertron". Attack of the Autobots Along with the other Seekers, Thundercracker attacked the outside of the Ark as a diversion so Megatron could insert a device in the Ark's recharging chamber that would turn the Autobots evil. Notably, Thundercracker's blasts created a landslide that stopped Prowl in his tracks. He was later boarding a rocket that would hopefully take the Decepticons back to Cybertron, but the Autobots, who had become good again, damaged the fuel tanks and forced the Decepticons to jump ship. Traitor/The Immobilizer Thundercracker was seen with the other Decepticons, shooting at Optimus Prime when he came for their electro-cells, and was among those who came to steal Wheeljack's Immobilizer. The Autobot Run When the Autobots became trapped in their vehicle modes thanks to the transfixatron, Thundercracker blasted Optimus Prime and Ironhide and overheated them. He also helped Starscream bring out the Decepticon body shell, and then attempted (and failed) to kill an Earthcrawler with an overdue termination. Atlantis, Arise! After Soundwave's discovery of an underwater city, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons went to go plunder it for energy. When they discovered a new ally, Thundercracker worked on some technology that would hopefully raise his submerged city. Although he was skeptical about working with them, he had to go along anyway as part of a larger plan. He was then among the Seekers who menaced a squad of Autobots when they came to check out the situation. When Sub-Atlantica had risen to the water's surface and floated towards Washington, D.C., Thundercracker entered the city with his fellow Decepticons. Though he and Skywarp threatened Hound and Prowl from above, Brawn held Thundercracker with a hooked rope so Optimus Prime could blast him out of the sky. Enter the Nightbird The three Seekers tore the roof off the building where Dr. Fujiyama, the famous scientist unveiled his new robot Nightbird, with Thundercracker and Starscream promptly transporting Nightbird to the Decepticons' temporary base. Later, Megatron considered replacing Starscream with the now-reprogrammed Nightbird. Starscream threw a fit and Megatron told Thundercracker and Skywarp to hold him back before Soundwave and Bombshell trapped him in a force field. Megatron led the Decepticons (minus Starscream) to retrieve Nightbird's World Energy Chip, but Starscream escaped and shot her with his null-ray in yet another act of treachery. Megatron sent the other Decepticons to catch the traitor, allowing the Autobots to collect it. A Prime Problem When the Autobots were investigating a mysterious source of energy in a crevice, the Seekers attacked Optimus Prime. Thundercracker charged at Optimus, only to be grabbed and thrown to the ground. Much later, as part of a ploy by Megatron, Thundercracker was surprised to hear "Starscream" announce for everybody to hold their fire, as he had an Autobot in his very hands and could kill him. Starscream shut him up by repeating the order. But when Starscream explained his plan to fight "Optimus Prime", Thundercracker went along with it and was the one who announced the start of the match. The Core On a later mission, Thundercracker ambushed the Autobots from above, only to be swatted away by an Autobot-controlled Devastator. The Insecticon Syndrome Thundercracker was subsequently around at the mission to Nova Power Plant, firing at the Autobots and a group of helicopter-piloting humans. At Iron Mountain, the Insecticons managed to enslave Thundercracker and the other Seekers. However, when the now enormous-sized Shrapnel exploded, it also deactivated the cerebro-shells that had taken over the Seekers, and they were returned to normal. Dinobot Island When Laserbeak reported a strange, prehistoric island chock-full of energon sources to Megatron, he brought a team of Decepticons with him, Thundercracker helping to fill up the energon cubes. Thundercracker also assisted in repelling both Autobots on the island and the island's monsters, only to be run over by a stampede. Auto Berserk Next, Thundercracker and the other jets came to a ravine to get a few shots in at the Autobots. This failed when Smokescreen used his eponymous ability to blind them. Microbots Thundercracker was also around to assist the Decepticons in recovering the wreck of the Nemesis, which had crashed in South America. He also got completely smashed when the Decepticons went on an energon binge. Megatron's Master Plan Thundercracker also disguised himself as an Autobot as part of a Decepticon plan to frame the Autobots. When the plan worked, he and the others witnessed the Autobots' banishment from Earth. Thundercracker and Skywarp supervised the humans filling up energon cubes at a power plant, and he later took part in attacking a squad of fighter jets that had come for the Decepticons, only for them to be overwhelmed by the Autobots, who had returned from their banishment. Desertion of the Dinobots When Spike, Carly, and Bumblebee went to the airport to pick up Sparkplug, Spike thought it was suspicious that brightly coloured military jets were at a commercial location such as theirs. Surely enough, they turned out to be Thundercracker and Thrust, and the hangar that they flew into was a new Decepticon base. However, the Dinobots showed up to stop them, and Snarl dispatched the Seekers by tripping them with barrels. Next, Swoop bombed Thundercracker and Thrust, causing them to crash into the base and destroy it. Slag then sent the two of them flying into an airplane, Thundercracker cushioning Thrust's fall. He got better, and later helped fill energon cubes, and by shooting Mirage, asserted to him that he was not, in fact, invisible. However, Thundercracker did not laugh for long, as his Cybertonium deteriorated and rendered him incapable of transformation. Blaster Blues Thundercracker, Starscream, and Megatron went to go steal Professor Haley's Voltronic Galaxer, after which they then boarded Astrotrain with the device and headed to the moon. After capturing a pair of intruders, Megatron ordered Starscream and Thundercracker to return to Earth while the galaxer did its work interrupting Earth's radiowaves. As Optimus Prime was directing traffic at an airport, Thundercracker and Starscream unleashed a surprise assault that damaged Powerglide and Prime. A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court When Starscream tackled Megatron after returning from Camelot, Thundercracker arrived to see what was going on. The Golden Lagoon Thundercracker and Skywarp also worked as guards for the Decepticons, ensuring that Perceptor and Seaspray didn't attempt to attack those who had captured them. When a lagoon full of electrum was discovered, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons took a dive and became invulnerable, showing off their power against the Autobots. He also came on the quest to topple Omega Supreme, but when he and Skywarp went to go retrieve a prisoner at the base, he was defeated. The Decepticons attempted to attack the now electrum-powered Autobots at the lagoon, but their electrum began to wear off and Thundercracker was shot down and they were forced to retreat. Make Tracks/Quest for Survival Thundercracker assisted in guarding the Decepticons' base in the Pine Barrens, and came to a valley that was full of Morphobots. He went into hiding when an Autobot convoy arrived, and didn't do much else except retreat. Triple Takeover When Astrotrain declared himself leader of the Decepticons, Thundercracker snarked at the idea, and it certainly didn't help when Astrotrain's "troops" got themselves in a mess. He barely escaped with his fellow jets when one of the troops accidentally created a flood. He later made a bet with Thrust and Ramjet (four energon cubes!) over whether or not Megatron will prevail over the rebellious Triple Changers and Devastator. War Dawn Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker had held several humans hostage, so it was only natural they would find the Aerialbots on their tails. Thundercracker got in a dogfight with Fireflight and Slingshot, and he emerged as the loser, returning to Cybertron for repairs. On Cybertron, the three Seekers caught up with the Aerialbots again, but they were calmed when Air Raid announced that he simply wanted to talk. Starscream saw this as an opportunity to trick the Aerialbots, but the remaining Autobots discovered their plan. The Seekers tried to ward them off, but Ironhide crashed into them. Eventually, the Decepticons discovered a guardian robot from Cybertron's past, which Thundercracker recalled as "giving them a pounding in the old days". When the Autobots repaired the time machine that had sent the Aerialbots to the past, the Decepticons attacked them with a guardian robot. When it was destroyed by Superion, they retreated. Starscream's Brigade Thundercracker and Skywarp were guarding a space bridge when Starscream flew in and requested to go to Cybertron. The two of them refused to let anybody through without proper authorization, leading Starscream to aim his gun directly in Skywarp's face. They reluctantly let him through. Thundercracker took part in the assault on the traitorous Starscream and his warriors, the Combaticons. The Revenge of Bruticus Thundercracker and Dirge were instructed by Megatron to transport some energon cubes to the space bridge. He was then sent to Cybertron via space bridge with the other Decepticons and the Autobots, who had temporarily made an alliance in order to stop Starscream. B.O.T. Finally, Thundercracker took part attacking the Ark and Defensor. MUX History: In 2007, during Starscream's absence from Earth to focus on a campaign on Cybertron, he placed Thundercracker in charge of the Decepticon Aerospace division. When Starscream returned, Thundercracker, back to his usual job of Air Warrior, was assigned back to Decepticon City. 01Jul2013 - Feeling cooped up and stir-crazy, Nightlash went for a flight and encountered the Autobots Encore and Fanfare, joining the two for a race inside the Grand Canyon. Along for the ride was Slugfest and on her wing was Thundercracker. Unfortunately, Thundercracker and Fanfare were called back to duty by their respective commands, leaving Encore and Nightlash to carry on the race on their own. There was no clear winner. In 2013, all Earth-assigned Seekers were brought to Cybertron to help defend Polyhex. Once the Polyhex was returned to Decepticon control, Thundercracker returned to Earth. In October of 2014 Thundercracker was made XO of Decepticon Aerospace. OOC Notes ;Theme Songs: *"Thunder" by The Prodigy *"Thunderstruck" by AC/DC Logs /Posts 2046 * "Reprimand" - Valour has to account for the death of Spike Witwicky. The End of the War * "The Mech That Sold The World" - The trek is at an end, as the survivors finally meet back up with Optimus Prime. * "AU: Apotheosis" - Megatron plans to blow the Well of Allspark... and consume what emerges to become a new Primus, or so he claims. The survivors have other ideas. Players User:MightyShoxy plays Thundercracker for the Apocalypse World TP. References * Who's Who in the Transformers Universe Category:active Category:Apocalypse World characters Category:Characters Category:AU-Decepticon Aerospace Category:AU-Decepticons Category:TP-only characters Category:Seekers Category:Transformers Category:Warriors